The Flashpoint Paradox

 The Flashpoint Paradox is a 2013,  direct to DVD, PG-13,  Justice League 
release which fell far below the radar,  but delivers one of the best DC comic 
stories committed to their ever growing library of less than child oriented,  
animated movies. This tale begins with the building pace of a feature film and 
moves forward at a tempo worthy of speedster Barry Allen.  

   Based on the 2011 graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert of the same 
name,  screen writer Jim Krieg sculpts a chronicle of the Flash which starts 
fast by familiarizing the audience with Barry Allen as the Flash as he foils a 
Flash themed museum heist, attempted by all of his most famous foes;  including 
Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Mirror Master, and Top to name a 
few. 

   This also provides the footing for the films notoriously do Gooding hero's, 
the Justice League, to step in and save the day.  We are given but a quick 
glimpse of the benevolent League's driving will to serve justice, providing a 
stark contrast to the corrupted group in the deviant reality.  A reality created 
by one simple, temporal mistake made by Barry. 

   For the Flash, what starts out as an innocent desire to fix a personal, past 
mistake after accidentally disobeying the laws of time during a faster than 
light, emotionally fueled run, leads us to an almost unrecognizable world in the 
current time line. 

   For upon reawakening in the present ,  Barry sees that the past changes made,  
facilitated by a child's love for his mother,  grew into apocalyptic death and 
destruction.  We are confronted with a world where Barry never had that faithful 
lightning bolt flash which gave him his fantastic powers,  a world where 
Superman was found,  not by the loving Kent family,  but by the conspiring 
government and kept locked away under a malnourishing,  red sun-lamp,  and a 
reality where Joe Chill never killed Thomas Wayne,  but his only child Bruce, so 
many years ago. Events leading still to the Cape and Cowl patrolling Gotham,  
but with the vengeance of Thomas Wayne who is not afraid to us a gun and kill a 
criminal or two.  

   This movie takes us along a uniquely explored time paradox,  as explained to 
the Flash by his polar opposite Doctor Zoom.  Any change to the time line 
creates a ripple effect,  like a stone dropped in water,  effecting events both 
before and after the Paradox. 

   Though most of all,  we are given an original Flash centered story,  with the 
problem and solution worthy of only the Flash and an opportunity to show the 
world why the fastest man alive continues to win the race as one of the most 
recognized and followed heroes in comic book history,  parallel or otherwise. 

by john SMITH

BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM

With batman turning 75 years old this past may, it is about time DC draws upon its well established Gotham mythos and tells a story not centered on Batman or Bruce Wayne, but a motley crew of villains newly dubbed 'The Suicide Squad'.

And for what purpose did Amanda Waller assemble the squad and how did she knit together this loose thread of impossible loners and gets them to play as a team?

With the promise of freedom for success or the punishment of a nano-explosive devise planted in their necks for anything less than perfection, the Squad, under the reluctant leadership of protagonists and anti-hero Deadshot and the Joker's former love interest Harley Quinn, is given the insane task of breaking into Arkham. "The Wall" cleverly convinces these convicts to put aside past differences and focus one simple task, assassinate the Riddler.

Through an introduction to our main players, obviously paying homage to a heist movie in the vein of Oceans Eleven or Resevoir Dogs, we are brought into the workings of a plot masterfully designed by morally ambiguous, government big wig, Amanda "The Wall" Waller. We follow the Bat's enemies as they crawl from deep with in the recesses of Gotham's penultimate penitentiary, away from the Batman's perspective, and into the villainous gaze of Arkham Asylum's closed-circuit cells, perpetually haunted by DC Comic's most dangerous, and psychotic, criminals.

As the plot develops we see the Batman early on confronting the Riddler, in an apparent quest for the location of a dirty, nuclear bomb hidden by the Joker. But this part of the tale quickly fades into an unfocused background and the clarity of the other characters come into full view as motivations blur the line of antagonism and protagonism.

Though It cant help being noticed that there is an overwhelming lack of Batman in this Batman movie. But don't let the lack of the bat, nor the fact it is based on a video game, keep you from a well knit premise covering the sharp banter and and blood soaked trail left by the newly formed Suicide Squad.

And with the ethical cowl of Bruce Wayne stripped almost entirely from the audience's concern, the body count escalates upon the execution of Ms. Waller's self serving plan, leaving the crew of criminals to reluctantly work together or fall into their old habits of solitary and ego mania.

Even as we are treated to the famous rendering of Kevin Conroy's Batman and a remarkably well done adaptation of Mark Hamil's joker voice, done by Troy Baker, it is at this point we become aware that this is not another meatless rendering of the 1990's Batman we have become so familiar and compliant.

Thanks mostly to the flow of fill in profanity, excessive violence and a rather explicit sexual liaison between Harley and Deadshot, which at first glance seems a gratuitous flirtation with mature content, only later to provide a fuel to fire the rage needed to propel the Joker from his innocuous Insanity as the incarcerated clown prince of crime to an understandably enraged victim of a lovelorn heart in the final climax of our ever unfolding delineation of animated double crossing and cartoon carnality.
But what lamentation we may feel for the Bats missing screen time, we are rewarded by a climactic jail brake, orchestrated by the joker and populated with the cornucopia of criminally insane Arkham residents. From Poison Ivy and her botanically induced zombie minions, to the chemically enhance biology of Bane, Hopefully this menagerie of cameos may well grow into further DC movies with the same edge and mature tone to continue to keep the Bat busy and Gotham's growing fans sadistically satisfied for the years to come.

John SMITH
For MOVEMENTMagazine.com

LEGENDARY COMICS - 2014 PREVIEW

LEGENDARY COMICS 2014 PREVIEW Following in the gigantic footsteps of the Godzilla: Awakening, we proudly bring you a first look at Legendary Comics' upcoming releases, including 3 all-new titles. Check out the official previews and exclusive new art to get a glimpse at the adventures to come...

ANNIHILATOR One man's mind is the most dangerous place in the universe. A subversive sci-fi odyssey from the extraordinary mind of Grant Morrison. Washed-up Hollywood screenwriter Ray Spass joins forces with his own fictional character Max Nomax on a reality-bending race to stop the universe from imploding... without blowing his own mind in the process. Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Frazer Irving Coming this September MORE INFO

A TOWN CALLED DRAGON EVERY TOWN HAS ITS SECRETS. THIS ONE BREATHES FIRE. Modern-day America and ancient mythology collide when the last dragon egg finally hatches, and an ordinary group of citizens must unite to defeat it. Writer: Judd Winick Artist: Geoff Shaw Coming this September MORE INFO

EPOCHALYPSE WELCOME TO A WORLD AT WAR WITH TIME. When a mysterious space-time phenomenon causes 600 years of human history to collapse into a single era, an elite team of Resynchronization officers must wage a war against the very laws of time. Writer: Jonathan Hennessey Artist: Shane Davis Coming this Fall MORE INFO

THE TOWER CHRONICLES: DREADSTALKER HE LIVES TO KILL THE DEAD. Supernatural bounty hunter John Tower has long been a man shrouded in mystery. Now, discover what set him on this path of horror as his origins are finally uncovered, revealing just what Tower is risking his life to find! Writer: Matt Wagner Artist: Simon Bisley Coming this August MORE INFO

THE HARVESTER He knows your darkness... now you will know his. A supernatural suspense story unfolds when two rebellious investigators discover that the nightmarish urban legend of "The Harvester" is more real - and more dangerous - than they ever imagined. Writer: Brandon Seifert Artist: Eric Battle The Harvester is coming... MORE INFO

FOLLOW LEGENDARY FOR EXCLUSIVE NEWS, UPDATES AND EVENTS

Tampa Bay Comic Con

Drake Bell from Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, voice of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon and star of Superhero Movie will be at the April 6-7, 2013, Tampa Bay Comic Con!

Comic Cons update

April 6-7, 2013 - Tampa Bay Comic Con

May 18-19, 2013 - Orlando Comic Expo.
The legendary Jim Steranko headlines that convention, along with some other quality comic artists.

September 14-15, 2013 - Nashville Comic Expo.
This convention will be larger than both the Tampa and Orlando conventions. They have confirmed Walking Dead actress Lauren Cohan for the Nashville Comic Expo, and are in the process of signing a second big media name and have a solid list of comic artists that will be added to the website later this week. This is going to be a fantastic convention.

www.TampaBayComicCon.com

Local Gallery GAAM (Games Art and Music) Announces Their First Charity Show for December 14, 2012

Jacksonville, FL—Local startup gallery GAAM has officially announced the first Games Art And Music Charity Show to take place December 14, 2012, at The Museum at 4160 Boulevard Center Dr, Jacksonville, FL.

Local artists, Edmund Dansart, Logan Zawacki, Derrick Nevado, and Ryan Paul Thompson have collaborated over the past year to create a local event that appreciates and celebrates the video game culture, and bring attention to the SouthEast.

This is a one night only event that has the support of many in the video game industry, including award winning game industry and hollywood composer Penka Kouneva, EA Games, Game designer and author Chris Solarski, and Square Enix (well known for Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Dragon Quest).

The event will feature several art exhibitions, include a charity art auction where 100% of the proceeds will go to Child’s Play, a juried art show for other artists to showcase their work, a real world Super Mario Experiential Exhibit, famous cosplayer Candy Keane, DJ Nes, martial arts demonstrations by Nevado Karate Arts, and more.

About GAAM
GAAM stands for Games Arts And Music, and was formed in 2012 and is an art curation and creation company. They specialize in representing the gaming culture in it’s various forms and creating unique gaming events and experiences.

About Child’s Play
Child’s Play was founded in 2003 by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of the online comic strip Penny Arcade, which concerns itself with video games and gamer culture. In response to the media’s negative portrayal of gamers, the pair called for the gaming community to donate to Seattle Children’s Hospital during the holiday season.

The response was overwhelming—within weeks, they had a garage packed full of toys, games, and gifts to brighten the holiday of many sick kids. That year, they raised over $250,000; a number that has grown each year; up to nearly $10 million as of 2010. The gaming community comes together to raise millions of dollars, put together hundreds of community fundraisers, and change the lives of countless children.

Contact
To learn more about this event and GAAM please visit their website at http://www.gamesartandmusic.com or contact Ryan Paul f2b751 at ryan@gamesartandmusic.com.

For more information regarding Child’s Play, please visit the website.

Black Weekend Clearance Sale at Black Hive Comics

Presenting our first ever Black Weekend Clearance sale!

Black Hive Comics & More is located at:
2724 Park Street in Jacksonville, Florida | Phone: 904.389.3312

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From noon on Friday, November 23^rd to 5:00 PM Sunday, November 25^th, ALL back stock will be 50% off the marked price! That includes statues, clothing, toys, posters, cards, novelties, collectibles, variant cover comics, AND back issues!!*

THat's right! Take 50% off of our everyday back issues discount, for a whopping 75% off highly valued back issues, and 50% off cover price!!!**

There will be NO RESERVING items before or during the sale! Strictly first, come first served. So come down before the sale to see what you want, get your funds together, and come back November 23^rd—25^th for our biggest sale yet!

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*	“Back issues” is defined as any back issue bagged and boarded, and/or boxed on the floor, NOT pull comics. Any comics on the “current comics” wall, and items currently in pulls (comics, statues, clothing, collectibles, etc…) are NOT included in the sale discount category, regardless of age.
**	This means the back issue discount is 75% off values greater than cover price, but no sale will be made lower than half cover price.